Spiritual touch needed for any peace process

BENGALURU: Spiritual leader and founder of The Art of Living Sri Sri Ravi Shankar talks about the efforts to broker peace in Colombia. He played a key role in the exercise and President Juan Manuel Santos won the Nobel Peace Prize for 2016 for his efforts to end the long-running civil war.
When did you commence the peace-brokering peace process in Colombia?
We had been trying to get some links with the FARC rebels since 2013.The road map was laid out in the fall of 2013 at our Canadian ashram with volunteers from South America.FARC guerillas were opposed to anything religious and spiritual. Let alone sitting with them, they wouldn't want us to even be seen around them. We had to find connections and through some contacts from Mexico to Venezuela to Cuba, we finally established connection with them in 2014.
By then, we had done several healing and trauma relief programmes and social projects in Colombia for which the government there invited me to be the recipient of the highest civilian honour in 2015. In June 2015, I met with President Santos wherein he talked about the bleak situation. I decided to go to Cuba and try for peace.
When we reached Cuba, the initial resistance turned into a very cordial and intimate relationship. FARC initial ly took pride in the fact that they stood on their own and that they rejected offers from Norway , the US and other countries.
I allowed them to share what was in their heart and listened. Then they told me to go and talk to the government and make the government agree to their demands instead of wasting my time talking to them. We did meditation together and continued our dialogue and to everyone's surprise on the last day , they came with me to the press conference and announced their decision to follow the Gandhian principles of non-violence while continuing to fight for social justice which was my appeal to them.
I've also spoken to former President Alvaro Uribe and asked him to cooperate.
What were the biggest challenges?
Vested interests with financial gains do not want the con flict to end, as conflicts are cash cows for them. Many political parties have vested gains. There's prejudice against a spiritual guru and skepticism from several corners. I didn't even take note of these challenges but continued with our efforts.
Anger, venom, revenge and mistrust were generally prevalent. When your environment becomes so vicious and violent, one becomes cynical about anyone even talking about peace, especially when the conflict is so old and many haven't seen peace in their lifetime. The only option one hears is the military option.
Does your success in Colombia give hope to the world that many such wars can be ended?
Yes! Definitely. People have to first go deep within and release the spiritual energy.Only that will bring calm, collective and progressive thinking.